As the man stepped through the portal Timothy began to back up, forgetting where the wall was and banged into it. He started rubbing the back of his head where it hit the wall as the man introduced himself as Rift. His voice was odd, it sounded like he was talking through a speaker at a fast-food restaurant.
Timothy couldn’t stop himself, “Can I get fries with that?”
Rift paused for a few moments as if listening to something, then his eyebrows furrowed as he looked at Timothy. “You ignorant little retch!” his voice exploded from the mask as lightning began to arch from his shoulders to the walls and the floors, “You think it makes you strong to point out someone’s flaws and disabilities? Do you feel empowered now? I have come here to help, and this is the first thing you can think of saying to me. An insult!” The lightning emanating from him grew in intensity.
Timothy’s eyes widened before he bowed his head in shame, and a little bit of fear, “My apologies. Everything is so weird right now that I have kind of lost myself.” He looked up with remorse, “I’m that jerk, aren’t I. The one that points out others flaws to make themselves feel better. I am truly sorry.”
Rift took a few deep breaths and began pacing the room before the lightning started to recede from his shoulders. It took some time to fully calm himself before looking at Timothy.
He let out an exasperated sigh before he said, “I apologize as well, I really should be more patient with you. You must be confused and out of sorts. Let’s start over again. I am Rift, I am here to help and guide you over the next few days. You must have tons of questions, so I will let you ask whatever you want. I will answer them to the best of my knowledge.”
Timothy fired off the first question immediately, “Where are we?”
“That one is simple. We call this the preparation room.” Rift said.
“A prep room for what?” Timothy probed as he looked at the room again.
Rift considered for a moment, “For the things to come. For the world you will be a part of and for the changes that are about to happen to you, should you be strong enough to handle them.”
“You’re being a bit cryptic. What does any of that mean? Are you able to give me more details?” Timothy asked with a touch of impatience.
“I can, but first, it would be nice if I had your name.”
“Wow, I really am being rude. I guess, I assumed you already knew who I was. Again, I apologize, my name is Timothy.”
“Nice to finally meet you, Timothy. I have been waiting for you for a long time.” Timothy went to say something, but Rift put a hand up to stall him and continued, “Before you ask more questions, let me answer the ones you already posed to me.”
Timothy nodded in agreement then Rift continued, “Excellent! As I said before, we are in a preparation room. This room will teach you about the world you will hopefully be going to, what the rules are there and some of its history.”
Timothy scratched his chin in contemplation before asking Rift, “What? Like a session zero?”
Rift paused at that as if he was listening to something then replied, “Yes. Almost exactly like that.”
“Okay, so this is a session zero and you are my guide. Got it!” Timothy looked at the ceiling as he gathered his thoughts. “So does everyone speak English where you come from?”
“No. There are many different languages, none of them being English. My mask” pointing to his face, “translates my thoughts into words that anyone in my audience can understand. I have to say, that is not the question I thought you would have asked as your second question? Why did you ask something so trivial, so soon?”
“I am firing from the hip here, but I don’t think that is as trivial as you do. That must be a handy ability. If I am going to a new world is that an ability that I can obtain?” Timothy inquired.
Rift nodded, “You will have a chance at something similar later on.”
“We will have to get back to that, but not now.” Timothy said, “Next question. Are the doors what I think they are? Wizard,” pointing to the northern door, “smith,” pointing to the door in the southwest, “and warrior,” pointing to the door in the southeast.
Rift shrugged his shoulders slightly then continued, “You are directionally correct though the terms are different in my home world.” Rift pointed at the northern door, “Gem Caster,” then pointed at the southwest, “Gem Forger,” finally pointing to the southeast, “Gem Wielder. Gems are an integral part of the magic in our world. They are focuses that allow the soul to channel its energies, refining it into certain types of elemental, force or ethereal energies.”
“Magic?!” Timothy questioned with excitement in his voice.
“Yes, magic.” Rift answered. “How do you think I got here? Do you think those motes of lightning were a trick? An optical illusion?”
Timothy creased his brow in contemplation as he scratched his chin. “I am not really sure. Maybe my subconscious tagged it as a trick or maybe this is some sort of dream.”
Rift thought for a second on Timothy’s words before saying, “Think about it. If it was a dream, would you be this lucid? If it was a trick, it would have to be a series of them, all strung together without someone drawing your attention elsewhere. There was no one here to use misdirection on you. Tricks without magic and without misdirection are hard enough to pull off, let alone several of them in succession without someone distracting you. There is magic all throughout this room. The chandelier is one of these sources. It is connected subtly to the doorframe and wall paintings. Once you are able to perceive magic you will start to see the weaves and how intricate they are. It really is a sight to behold.”
“Maybe I am being thick, did you create this room? I cannot tell if you are proud of, or astonished by it,” Timothy asked.
“I did not create this room, nor did I have a hand in making any of its components. My magic is more…direct. But yes, this place amazes even me.” Rift said.
Timothy was pretty sure he knew what Rift meant by “Direct”.
Timothy took a few moments to ponder this before replying, “Occam’s razor, huh? The simplest solution is usually the correct one, no matter how implausible.”
Rift agreed as Timothy continued, “Okay, let’s say I just accept that magic is real. My next question would be, what changes?”
“Everything!” Rift said with a smile that showed at the corners of his eyes. “In this preparation room you will have the chance to try the three different types of gem users before choosing a path. Once you have tried all of the gem user types you will set your primary, secondary and tertiary paths. Then we will move to the room where you can pick your race. Once that is complete, I will take you to a ready room where you can pick up some gear and a few other things of my master’s design.”
“So, a character builder?” Timothy said suspiciously.
Again, Rift tilted his head as if listening to something before replying, “Yes, almost like that, but this time it will be real.”
“Are you listening to something when I say a phrase that you don’t understand?” Timothy asked.
“Yes,” Rift said, “My master is a fifth dimensional being. He can see the full timeline of a person and can partially interact with it. When something is done in this place that I do not understand he can move through a person’s timeline to gain knowledge and impart it to me, but he will only do that for trivial matters. For example, when you said, ‘character builder,’ he could help me understand what it meant. He helps me understand local colloquialisms when talking to people and, I guess, an outsider like you.”
“That brings up many more questions, but first. Outsider? What do you mean by that? I mean, I know what an outsider is from the games I play, are you saying I am one of those?” Timothy questioned with trepidation in his voice.
“Yes and no. Right now, you are not but by the end of this you will be.” Rift explained.
“So…What am I right now? Just a regular human that was transported to this realm by some mystical force?”
Timothy thought that Rift looked conflicted after his last question. He let Rift collect his thoughts before he decided to continue. It only took a minute.
“Okay, while I appreciate the chance to become a fantasy hero I would like to decline. Can you send me home? I have a date tonight, or maybe I missed it, I don’t even know how long I have been here. How will I explain this to her?” The last few lines being Timothy’s thoughts vocalized.
“I am sorry, but you cannot.” Rift said. His body language suggesting that he lamented saying those words to Timmothy.
“Why not!” Timothy cut in, “You are some sort of interdimensional wizard, right? Open one of those rifts in the fabric of spacetime and send me home.” Timothy looked desperately at Rift.
Rift’s expression turned worrisome. This scared Timothy more than he would have liked to admit. He wasn’t sure how powerful Rift was, but he was more powerful than Timothy, he knew that. Plus, any type of teleport, from any of the games he played, was a high-level spell. Most likely Rift was a high-level caster of some sorts. If something bothered him what could Timothy do about it.
Rift exhaled before speaking, “I wish it were that simple. I cannot send you back to your world because you are not strong enough. Your spirit would fade out almost instantly. Your world can not sustain the soul as long as this place does, before it fades to the afterlife.”
Timothy’s gaze turned to ice, actually making Rift take a half step back, “Are you saying that I am…” Timothy’s voice caught.
Rift finished the thought for him, “Dead.”
Timothy felt as if he had been punched in the gut and he started to stumble backwards. Luckily the wall was there to support him. He leaned his back against it before sliding down to sit on the floor. He pulled his knees up, crossed his arms on them and then put his forehead on his arms. His shoulders and back started to heave.
Rift looked at Timothy with regret as well as some doubt. He understood that finding out that you are dead can be emotionally shattering but he hoped that the person chosen for this would be stronger. There was too much riding on this kid and if he was an emotional wreck the whole time he may not make the hard decisions when he had to. Maybe he could mentor him for a while, help him through the start of his journey and give him the guidance he will need.
Yes, that is what I must do. Rift decided to himself and started to make his way over to Timothy.
Sitting down next to him, he gave Timothy a few moments before talking, “Timothy, it is okay. I can help you through this.” Just then he started to think that Timothy wasn’t crying but laughing! “Are you crying or laughing?”
Timothy’s head shot up as he let out a loud laugh to the ceiling. He was laughing so hard that he couldn’t catch his breath, let alone talk. Now Rift was thoroughly confused, what is wrong with this kid. Crying he could at least understand, but laughing, that was completely uncalled for.
“What are you laughing about? I just told you that you cannot go back to your world and that you are dead. How is that funny?” Rift asked.
Timothy started to compose himself, rested the side of his head on his arms as he looked at Rift, saying, “Well, it is laugh or cry, right? On top of that you are an interdimensional wizard named Rift that appeared through a rift. That is funny in and of itself. Next. Last night was probably the best night of my life. I finally get the courage to let the girl of my dreams know how I feel, and I find out she felt exactly the same way! The night went so well. We had fun, we ate, we drank, we danced and then I got laid for the first time in a long time. BY! The girl of my dreams, if I haven’t said that before. And THEN! Not twelve hours later, I died!” he broke out into another fit of laughter. It was contagious, so much so, that Rift let out a snort and started laughing himself. The irony of the whole situation causing awkward chuckles between the two.
As the two calmed down Timothy picked his head up off his arms and looked at Rift, “You know. You are far more ‘human’ now than only a few minutes ago. The power of laughter, huh?” Rift only nodded in agreement.
To Rift’s surprise, Timothy was the first to stand up and offered his hand to help him up. Rift just smiled, it couldn’t be seen behind the mask but the corners of his eyes showed his delight. Rift grabbed Timothy’s hand and he was pulled to his feet.
“Thank you, Timothy. You have given me something that I have not had in a very long time.”
Rift saw the quizzical look on Timothy’s face, then added, “You gave me something to laugh about. Awkward as it was, it was still a joy. It has been millennia, I think, since I last cracked a smile, let alone laughed. And you are right, laughter does humanize people. For this I will give you three things. One you cannot take until you reach the end of the ready room, one I will give you now and the last one much later. The one I will give you now is knowledge, and it is free but powerful. When I told you that I cannot take you back to your world, that was true. There is more to it though. If you gain enough power, you can become strong enough to endure the journey. The thing I will give you much later is, when you reach that point and if you still want to, I will take you there.”
Timothy sniffled and wiped the corner of his eye with his finger. It may not be exactly what he wanted, but it was better than he had even a few minutes ago.
“Thank you Rift,” he said somberly. “This means more to me than you can possibly imagine. I know I do not have much to offer you but if there is anything I can ever help you with, let me know. I will be there.”
Rift put a hand on Timothy’s shoulder, “You already have, kid, you already have…”
Timothy’s eyes lit up as something about what Rift said clicked, “Hold on a sec! Is that why I don’t have a shadow? I am a ghost?”
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
“You are on the right track but not correct in the purest sense of the word. You are not a ghost, you are a soul. You’re a soul without a body. This is why you must go through this prep room. It will help you place a physical form over your soul, keeping it anchored to the physical world. Without it you will fade to the astral or afterlife, whatever you prefer to call it. If you fade there is nothing I can do, I cannot go there, and the three promises I made will go unfulfilled,” Rift clarified.
“How long do I have to complete this before I fade away?” Timothy asked.
“A day, maybe two. It depends on the strength of your soul or, I guess, you. Since you are your soul right now,” Rift said.
Timothy had a quick flash of panic before his mind calmed him, making him think things through. Rift gave him time as he watched Timothy process everything. It took Timothy a few minutes before he fully got ahold of his thoughts and emotions before turning to Rift.
“I think I need a more comprehensive understanding of this room. Can you explain the different features and markings? I should be able to make an informed decision then. What do you think?”
“Probably for the best,” Rift said, “Let me start with a brief history. Have you looked at the mural yet?”
Timothy nodded.
“Good, you have a basic understanding of the history of this world. I will give you a little more detail but not much. I don’t want to waste too much of the time we have on exposition. First, the two dragons you see are referred to as the world dragons. They are an ancient race of dragons that roam the cosmos searching for a suitable location to breed their young and they are very territorial. When two meet it is rarely peaceful. Etheldreda, the blue and white dragon was looking for a place to raise her young, while Tamarisk was looking to expand his territory. When the two met they engaged in a battle that shook the heavens for more time than the pictures accurately depict. No one is quite sure how long the battle raged, but it is speculated to be millions, if not billions of years. After their battle the two perished, turning into the planet, rings and moons that you saw in the picture. At least that is the common belief, that they perished. There are others that believe that they simply fell into torpor. Beings of that type of power should be almost impossible to kill. By the way, I am of the belief that they are in torpor.”
Timothy cut in, “Sorry to interrupt, but what is the name of the planet?”
“I was getting to that. Let me tell the story,” Rift said with mock admonishment. The corners of his eyes showed his grin and he continued, “The moons were the first to be inhabited by the tier one gods. I will go over these moons for you shortly. The rings then became the home to the tier two gods, of which there are too many to cover now with the limited time we have. And the last to be inhabited was the planet, which the people came to call Draconous. Following so far?”
Timothy gave a thumbs up.
“Good,” Rift continued, but was interrupted by Timothy.
“I assume that a thumbs up is a universal sign for affirmation?” Timothy asked.
“Strangely enough, yes, it is in my experience. That also carries true for most universes. I am not particularly sure why. Should I continue?” Rift questioned after his explanation.
Timothy gave another thumbs up, this time with a sardonic smirk on his face.
Rift gave a slight chuckle before continuing. “There are sixteen moons, they are for sixteen major, or tier one, gods. Fourteen of the sixteen pair up to opposing forces while the last two are stand-alone, all keeping each other in balance. The first pair are good and evil,” Rift made his way over to the area of the mural to the left of the northern door and stood just to the side of the final part of the picture showing the planet, rings and moons. He pointed to a pure white moon that resembled a beautiful pearl.
“This one is Cataleya, the goddess of everything good. She is one of the more approachable and forgiving gods. This one,” pointing to a dark moon that would be all but invisible if not for the red veins running all throughout it. “is Evander, the god of evil. Oddly enough, he is also one of the more approachable gods, though he never offers forgiveness. His followers take and do what they want, when they want. Forgiveness is a sign of weakness to them and a tool they aim to exploit.”
Rift moved to the other side of the planet pointing at a moon that look like a miniature sun, “This is Leopold, the god of light. He is always found on the daytime side of the planet and splits his influence with Bianca, the goddess of the dark,” he moved back to the other side of the painting and pointed at a moon that was barely visible in the night sky. “While you can see this moon in the painting, no one has ever viewed her from the surface of Draconous.”
“Can I interrupt again?” Timothy asked.
This time Rift gave a thumbs up.
Timothy snorted a brief laugh. “Are all opposing forces male/female? And are light and dark as approachable as good and evil?”
“You are quick on the uptake, that is good. It will serve you well in this world,” Rift complemented Timothy. “Yes, if one side is male the other is a female, except for the last two. They can switch it up, but they even stay in balance. If one appears as a male, the other will appear as a female. There must always be a balance. And, no. While they all seem approachable there are some to avoid if you do not follow their doctrine closely.”
“Interesting, please continue,” Timothy said.
“From here on out each of the gods stays closer to their sphere of influence, only interacting with people that are close to where their power manifest on Draconous. The next pair are Itzel and Waylen,” as he pointed to a moon with oceans of fire and islands of magma, then pointed to another that was a beautiful blue marble of ocean waters. “Itzel is the goddess of fire and Waylen is the god of water.”
Rift began to pick up the pace, pointing at two more moons. One of white wispy clouds racing around the surface and the other was brown and slightly rust covered, almost looking like Mars.
“These are Pavel, the god of air and Gia, the goddess of earth.”
“This one looks like Coruscant!” Timothy said with exuberance. “Please tell me that is what it is!”
Again, Rift tilted his head to listen to something. This time it took far longer than the other times he used this ability.
“Unfortunately for you, No. That one is Sebastian, the god of law. While this one,” pointing to one that looked like a ruined version of law, “is Domineke, the goddess of chaos. Do be careful if you deal with Sebastian. He is, without a doubt, the most inflexible of any of the gods.”
“That actually tracks for a god of law. Thanks for the heads up. By the way, will I be forced to pick a deity when I enter the world?” Timothy asked.
“While it is advantageous to pick a deity, it is not strictly necessary. It is rare but there are secular people in the world. I would imagine that could have its advantages as well. Gods see their followers easily, a godless could probably avoid their attention, unless the god was specifically looking for them. Which could be another potential problem. Gods can protect their followers from the eyes of the other gods. Fortunately, this is one of the choices that can be changed after you leave this place. Shall I continue with the last six?”
Timothy nodded.
Rift gave him a disappointed look. Timothy was taken aback at first, not sure why Rift looked at him that way, then it struck him. He smiled and gave Rift the thumbs up.
“The next four are Thorin, the god of life. Delilah, the goddess of death. Gannon, the god of the forge. Ursule, the goddess of destruction,” as Rift said each of these names he pointed to a different moon.
Thorin looked almost like earth. The land masses were all different, but the overall aesthetic was the same. Delilah was transparent and wispy, as if the moon itself was an apparition. Gannon was the only moon that was not round. This one looked like a moon sized factory, complete with smokestacks and large conveyer belts moving countless items around the outside of the building and then back inside. Ursule was the shattered moon with the five large pieces surrounded by innumerable amounts of debris.
“Got all of that?” Rift questioned after his explanation.
“I think so,” Timothy paused for a moment before saying. “Ursule is the only one that really scares me right now. That moon looks like a brutal place to live.”
“Be careful with your assumptions. You are correct that Ursule’s moon is a difficult place to travers, but it is essential. Some of the materials Gannon uses must be destroyed first before he can use them. You must melt metal to cast it, correct?”
Timothy nodded.
Rift continued, “You must kill a deer to eat it. You must chop a tree to make a house. Destruction is a part of the good things as well as the bad. Too many people assume that she is the cause of everything bad that happens. She is also the start of many of the good things.”
“Is that who you worship?” Timothy guessed.
“Yes,” Rift said without hesitation before he continued. “The last two are, at least right now, Veronica, the goddess of magic and Zev, the god of hate,” his right hand pointing at a moon covered in portals and magic symbols. His left was pointed at the moon that was struck by Ursule, the goddess of destruction. This moon had the look of a red eye of rage bleeding from the corners.
“Umm…If there is hate why is there not love as its opposite?” Timothy asked.
“That is an easy question to answer but a hard one to understand. To put it simply, love is too powerful, even for a god. It also crosses all boundaries. Let me think for a moment, maybe I can explain it,” Rift started pacing around the room, thinking to himself, Timothy staying quiet giving him that time.
After a few minutes Rift’s body language suggested that he settled on something. “Do you love someone? Your parents?”
Timothy nodded his ascent.
“Good, that will help. I want to propose a scenario for you. You and your parents are doing something together when someone you don’t know hurts them. Maybe even kills them. What would you feel towards that person? What would you want to do to them?” Rift asked.
Timothy thought about that for some time, letting it sink in before responding. “I would want them to suffer. If I had my way, I may even want revenge on them. Maybe even more. I don’t know the extent that I would want to take it to, but I know it wouldn’t be the ‘right’ thing to do. I doubt I could stop that feeling though.”
“There is my point. Love is a wonderful thing, but it can bring hatred as well. If love and hate oppose each other how can one bring about the other? Let’s think of another scenario. There are people that love what destruction brings. Some, such as myself, because of what comes afterwards. Others just love to watch things be destroyed. Love crosses so many boundaries that it cannot be beholden to one belief. If it was, how could anyone truly worship a god? They would not be able to love their god because it would be paying homage to another with their love. Does this make sense to you?” Rift asked.
Timothy thought for a minute. “A little bit. I mean I see where you are going with this, but it is kind of rocking everything I thought about love before now. I just assumed it was always a good thing. Now that I think about it though, there are people that have killed for love, there are people that have died for it as well. I think you may be right,” there was a few minutes of somber silence between the two as their thoughts drifted over the price of love.
Timothy looked at Rift. “You know what though? I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
Rift smiled at Timothy’s understanding. The two stood there in contemplation for some time before Rift broke the silence. “We need to continue. Are you ready?”
Timothy had been thinking about his parents, the rest of his family and Gina. Damn, should I have feelings like this for her already?
“Timothy?” Rift asked, breaking him out of his thoughts.
“Umm…yeah. Sorry, I guess so. I only have a limited time, right? Let’s get back on track.”
Rift pointed at the three doors. “The doors are for a sort of trial. Through each of the doors you will get a brief chance to try each type of gem user. Going through various scenarios just after the first wall.”
Timothy interrupted. “First wall?”
“Ah! I should explain that,” Rift said. “As you grow in power you will hit various walls that will prevent you from further advancement until you are able to make a breakthrough in your personal power. Breakthroughs can vary from person to person, and it is commonly referred to as ‘The Wall’. For some it can be a difficult quest that puts their mind, body and soul to the absolute test. Others it can be a discovery of something no one else has ever known, or at least had fallen out of common knowledge. Yet others can be a traumatic experience that you push through. Those are the three most common, but there are numerous other ways. Once breaking through a wall there is a significant increase in ability and power. The doors will put you just over the first wall and should give you a good opportunity to try each type of gem user. After trying all three you should be able to make an informed choice as to which fits you best.”
“What was your first wall like?” Timothy asked.
A look of shame and pain fell over Rift as he touched his face before turning his back to Timothy and started pacing the room.
“I broke through because of a failure,” Rift turned his gaze to the floor, “There were so many that died because of me. The pain and remorse I felt tortured my soul for months before I finally came to grips with what happened. That was when I broke through.”
Timothy felt the emotional distress emanating from Rift. Even though he had just met him he couldn’t help feeling empathy for the man. The mental trauma clearly still present when the memories returned to him.
Timothy hesitantly asked Rift, “I don’t mean to pry, can you tell me what happened? That may help me avoid a situation like that in the future.”
Rift eyed Timothy with a wearied look, “I will, but not today. It is a long story and I do not want to delay anymore then we already have.”
Timothy nodded, even though he was pretty sure that Rift just didn’t want to talk about it. He would give Rift that space, for now.
Rift regained his composure before continuing, “Once you make your decision you will operate the three rings in the center of the room. Choosing your primary, secondary and tertiary paths. Let’s say you pick Gem wielder as your primary, you will still be able to forge and cast spells, just at a reduced power level.”
Timothy interjected before Rift continued, “The three rings now make sense. I assume that ring with the number one is for the primary path? And needs to point to the corresponding gem user’s door that I want as my primary path?”
“Yes, you are correct on both assumptions,” Rift answered, “any other questions on the rings?”
“I am sure there will be, but nothing right now. Please continue,” Timothy said.
“Lastly, the gold plinth,” as Rift said.
He held his outstretched hand toward the gold square in the floor, rolled his wrist over and started to squeeze his fingers together. This caused the gold square to rise up about two inches.
“Before any of this is possible you will need to attune your soul to the room through the plinth. If you are not able to, the powers of this room will be closed off to you.”
Timothy looked from Rift to the gold square in the floor, “How do I attune to it?”
“You will need to have your whole body inside the square. Once you are, you can take your shoes off and touch the square with your feet or kneel down and place your palms on it. Then, relax your mind. If you are able to attune to it the process will begin on its own. The pedestal resetting itself to the floor as it starts,” Rift explained.
Timothy clapped his hands together and started rubbing them against one another as if to warm them up. As he walked toward the gold square Rift backed outside of the large triangle giving Timothy almost the entire room. Once atop of it, Timothy knelt down and placed his palms on the cool metal and tried to relax his mind.
Thoughts of the past few days started racing their way through his head. He tried desperately to shut them off but the more he tried to force his mind to stop thinking, the more the thoughts came to him. Panting and out of breath he broke the connection of his hands to the gold and looked at Rift.
“It didn’t reject you, that is good, but your thoughts were not calm. You must calm your thoughts. Try again!” Rift commanded in a tone very similar to when he first admonished Timothy. Little arcs of lightning started dancing around him.
Timothy, this time, took his shoes off and stood in the middle of the square. Trying to calm his thoughts he started to think of going to sleep. That brought thoughts of him and Gina the night before. One of the happiest memories of his life, yet nothing happened to connect him to the room. Again, after some time he stepped off panting and breathless.
“Good memories are not a clear mind. You must clear your mind! Was there a time when you were most at peace?” Rift asked.
Timothy took a second then he had a revelation. There was one wave that he remembered was the perfect wave for him. The serenity he felt then was never replicated any other time he went surfing. There were no thoughts running through his head as he cascaded down the line, it was nature in all of its glory and it was beautiful.
“I got it!” Timothy said with conviction.
This time he sat cross legged on the gold, allowing the sides of his feet to touch the floor while putting his hands, palms down, on the cool square as well. He started to think about that ride and the sensations he had during it settled upon him, clearing his mind.
The gold started turning to tendrils of yellow mist that slowly started waving over his body. They tried to attach themselves to him. No, to his soul. It hurt, it felt invasive, and Timothy’s instinct was to reject it. At this the tendrils hissed, wrapping themselves around him, lifting him off the plinth before tossing him to the side.
After landing on the floor Timothy didn’t even look at Rift, he kept his gaze on the gold square. There was something else there, he saw it for a flash before being ejected. Rift was saying something to him but Timothy tuned him out, continuing to stare at the square.
Determination filled him like nothing he had ever felt before. He would not be denied. Timothy’s eyes flared an ethereal yellow flame as he stood up and walked toward the plinth again.
This time he did not step all the way inside it. He merely took a knee next to it and placed his left hand on the square. He saw it now, it looked similar to a circuit board, but a 3d holographic image starting at the gold plinth and stretching about two feet high. He saw the pathways, he saw the connections and most importantly, he saw how to take control of it. He used his right hand to alter the flows of energy, making his own connections.
Rift stood there in amazement.
“Master, what should I do? Do I stop him?” Rift asked to the room. He tilted his head, listening. “Yes master,” he said as he waved a hand behind him, summoning a chair. Rift took a seat, hands crossed with his forearms on his lap, staring intently at Timothy.
Timothy made the last few modifications before pushing down with his left hand. The plinth sank into the floor. Golden light moved along the ground as if it was a liquid, filling in all of the etchings in the hard stone. The three concentric circles started to spin slowly. As the liquid light reached the tips of the large triangle, filling in the smaller triangles, five beams of light shot out of the floor from each point. Striking the left side of each door, leaving five points of golden light shining brighter than any other stars on the mural.
The yellow flames in Timothy’s eyes died down, and as they did Timothy felt tired. More tired than he had ever been in his entire life, he could not fight off the urge for a much-needed rest. His world fell into darkness once again.